


Onwards, Upwards, Away

by Xeophyte



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: (sorta) - Freeform, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Betrayal, Domestic Fluff, Dude Where's My Brother, Family Feels, Fear, Feral is an engineer, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Jedi as Found Family (Star Wars), Nightbrother Culture (Star Wars), Nightsisters, Obi Wan needs a hug, Prospective from a kid's point of view, Savage Opress needs a hug, Scary situations from a child's prospective, Two Sith and a Baby, Violence, Young Feral, but like an Issac Clarke kind of engineer, chosen family, how do tags work, new tags added 11/01/20, potential child endangerment, well not a BABY
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:15:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27207226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xeophyte/pseuds/Xeophyte
Summary: Originally titled BABY FERAL VS THE GALAXY.This is the first of several different escapes. By all means, it might not make sense - but then the boy is rather determined to find his brother.----No, this won't adhere strictly to canon. I'm a sad boy. Let me have my fluff.
Relationships: Darth Maul & Savage Opress, Feral & Darth Maul, Feral & Darth Maul & Savage Opress, Feral & Obi Wan Kenobi, Feral & Savage Opress
Comments: 3
Kudos: 70





	1. The Facts According to Feral

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic, please be kind... The feelings in this fic are purely platonic as it's written from Feral's prospective. Essentially, I saw what happened in canon and wanted something to soothe the pain. A friend of mine suggested I post it.

Feral escapes the choosing by virtue of being 10 years old. He knows he’s ten, because that’s how many notches are on the doorway. Every year Savage stood him against it and measured how tall he’d gotten – he’d done it from the very first day he’d been given the wailing bundle of baby boy. As he continued to stand at the gates of the village he entertained himself with all of the facts he knew.

First being, that his brother was the strongest Nightbrother in their clan. He knew that because he had seen Savage fight. He’d been taught to fight himself by Savage – and while Feral wasn’t much good yet (“Because you are still very small, you see.”) he knew he was going to be at least half as strong as his brother. The second fact, was that a choosing was basically a big fight to prove you were worthy of being in the village. Savage would probably win. Feral knew that was a fact – Savage always won the matches during festivals.

The second fact was that Feral would be alone until all of the eligible males participating would return. They’d all left, at least all the able-bodied ones. The village was under-defended at the moment. A handful of hunters stood atop the walls with their rifles and bows. Brother Viscus had always kept the armory locked unless it was needed. Early that morning, before the choosing, Brother Viscus had led a procession to the Armory and unlocked the massive blast doors. The warriors had taken their chosen weapons, and then the hunters had followed after and picked out the weapon they would defend the village with. Feral had been given a stick. He had wanted to argue, but Savage had shown him how to poke larger Nightbrothers in the spots that hurt the most – so he’d just accepted it and taken a post.

Thirdly… the choosing was taking _forever_. Feral had been stood in the same spot, along with the hunters, for almost the entire day. If he left his spot then he might miss seeing Savage and the others come back. That would be the worst – since if Savage won, then they might have some reason to celebrate. Celebrating meant that Savage would go to the morning market and buy the ripest melon he could find with his winnings, and they would have it at breakfast. His stomach rumbled at the thought. The entire village had eaten early that morning. Before the Armory was opened, they’d all had some nasty-smelling soup (Feral had been given what he usually ate, but the grimaces of his kin were fun to watch as they choked the soup down) and then the day had started.

So far, no one had returned. The oldest of hunters had started to sag at their posts. Feral noticed the younger hunters starting to fidget – but they were all much older than he was. He remembered they were teenagers when he was very small. A handful of them were younger than Savage. They had used to watch him during the days when he was little, before they began to complain that they were too old to play with him. He scanned the horizon again. He wished they would hurry back home. If Savage and the other warriors didn’t return, then that meant they all had lost. Which meant that Feral could be standing here waiting with his stick the entire night.

For some reason the thought that Savage might not come back, stuck in his mind. But Savage had said he would be back. His brother had never lied to him before – unless something else had happened once the choosing had started that neither of them could have thought of. He huffed at himself and shook his head. No! There was no way any other warrior could beat Savage. But still the thought lingered and continued to nag at him.  
_Alright_ , he told himself after some time of this; _if Savage does not come back, then I will find him._


	2. B is for Betrayal, and other Bad Things: By Feral O.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You can't just steal an entire Nightbrother! Especially one with a little brother who still needs that entire Nightbrother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second chapter is much longer than the first! I will warn you this chapter deals with distress and potential child endangerment. 
> 
> I'll edit the tags do include it in case it will upset anyone - please bear with me! 
> 
> Also... should I have a schedule for updating? I am still writing this. I just have a lot already written. :')

It had been a week. An excruciating, bad, terrible, awful, _lonely_ week. Feral was pretty sure he would be sick with worry by the end of it. Worst of all, the warriors had never returned from the trial. But Brother Viscus _had_. He’d arrived back at the village late into the night. Feral had long-since been sent to bed (alongside a handful of the youngest hunters.) In the morning, Feral woke to an empty house. So, he’d gone to Brother Viscus later that morning, asking after his brother. The boy had hoped against all hope that he’d get good news.  
“He has been chosen. He will not return.” Viscus said. His eyes were harder than usual, though he wore the same stern expression he always did. Feral wasn’t sure what to do. Of _course_ he was glad Savage had won (what did ‘chosen’ mean, exactly?) But hearing that his brother would never return felt like all of his insides had turned to ice. The boy stood there, staring up at Viscus and hoping the elder had more answers for him.

Unfortunately Viscus did not (or would not) tell him more. Not even when Feral begged, groveled, and whined. Finally, Brother Viscus got tired of the boy and sent him away. He went home. Except it _wasn’t_ home, because Savage wasn’t _there_. It was a struggle to complete all of the chores by himself. Feral kept calling out – only to remember his brother was gone. Still, Savage would be disappointed if Feral cried. At the end of the day, despite the fact that he was tired (and had only done the chores he could actually complete.) Feral made dinner. There wasn’t much he knew how to make. With a shiver, Feral realized that he would quickly run out of food he could make. Maybe he could trade the excess for more provisions?

The other Nightbrothers would probably get annoyed with him (as they often were) if he asked for help though. If he didn’t keep up with all of the chores, the house would go into disrepair. The truth was that Feral was too small to do all of the things that needed to be done. Without his brother, he’d only lose more things – but then he realized that he’d already lost the most important thing. Savage was his whole life! How could Feral even manage without his brother? As much as he hated to admit it… he was only ten years old. He _needed_ to find Savage. Feral wanted his brother back. Although he still wasn’t sure about what Viscus had meant. Did Viscus mean that Savage wouldn’t return to the _village_? Or that he wouldn’t return to _Feral_? If Feral went after his brother, would he run away?

The boy snorted and broke into a fit of giggles at the mental image of Savage fleeing from _him_ , of all things. No, Savage wouldn’t run from him. But maybe he’d be disappointed that Feral went after him… _Well_ , Feral decided, _I will just get there when I get there_. With that thought of determination, he put away the food scraps and went up to their bedroom. Time to pack. Feral carefully went through his things and decided on what he would and wouldn’t bring. Just before he left the room he and his brother had shared since he was a baby, he caught sight of Savage’s cowl. It was made of thick, heavy fabric and… he couldn’t leave it. Feral stepped back into the room and gathered it up – it was far too big for him, but it would keep him warm. It still smelled like his brother. Feral scrunched up his face and forced the tears away before they could spill. He turned and tucked the cowl into his bag.

That was the only thing he knew he wanted to keep for certain. The rest Feral wasn’t sure about and left it where it was. Other stuff might have been useful, but was too bulky. He could only carry so much, after all… Feral headed for the front room but paused half-way towards the front door. For some reason he felt like he should leave through the _back_ door. Maybe he might get in trouble if the other Nightbrothers saw him leaving… better to go the sneaky route. It wasn’t too difficult to get out of the village, but once he was out, he’d have to be careful and make sure to get a stick. There were _rancors_ out there, after all. How embarrassing that’d be – to get eaten by a rancor before he even left the planet! He turned on his heels and scooted towards the back door that led to the alley, feeling rather clever.

Feral was _just_ about to leave the alley next to his now-former place of residence when something strange caught his eye. Two humans. Just walking around in the village. Feral blinked and decided to follow them, keeping to the alley. It was such a strange sight – the humans were pink, with no markings. They also had weird little hats on their heads! And one had a thing on his face. Maybe some kind of mask? They seemed to be going towards the Nightsister village. He watched them enter – completely dumbfounded. They didn’t even look afraid! If they were there for the choosing, they were _waaaay_ late. He had never heard of humans being part of a choosing – or even going to meet the Nightsisters. Nobody went to the Nightsisters willingly – girls were icky and gross no matter what Feral overheard at bonfires.

But why humans? He frowned as he tried to think about why – when someone snatched him up by the scruff. Feral yowled and hissed, lashing all around to get free. _Nobody_ manhandled an _Opress_!  
“Gristle! I found him!” That sounded like Gnarl, and Feral struggled harder. They were looking for him? But why? Gnarl turned towards his twin, the orange-skinned Zabrak holding a bag. Feral’s eyes went wide and he struggled harder. He did not want in that bag. No _sir_. Feral kicked his legs with all of his strength and tried to dig his nails into Gnarl’s wrist. He’d never liked those two anyway. Now they wanted to hurt him. Probably because Savage wasn’t there to scare them away.

“Good. Bring him here. If Talzin knew we’d almost lost him… I don’t even want to _think_ about what she would do.” Gristle flapped the bag and held it open – but Feral swung his legs wide and kicked the zabrak holding him hard in the chest. Somehow. He was dropped on the dusty ground as Gnarl wheezed out a curse. Feral didn’t stick around to see what they were going to do to him, scrambling to his feet and taking off. If Mother Talzin wanted _him_ , he didn’t want to be anywhere _near_ the village. Maybe she knew he was going to find Savage and got upset. Brothers weren’t supposed to leave the village – and Mother Talzin could hear your thoughts and turn you into a snake with her magicks.

Feral did not _want_ to be a snake. In fact, he thought he’d make a _terrible_ snake. He had never run so fast in his life before. His short legs carried him down the alley and away. Unfortunately, just about everyone in the Village seemed to be looking for him. The streets were filled with Nightbrothers – his own kin were after him! Feral dodged hands, ignored the shouts for him to stop, and the curses when he got away. The boy didn’t waste breath on screaming for help. No one would help him unless it was to help him _straight_ into Mother Talzin’s claws. He had finally hidden himself behind a series of crates in the main drag of the village when he spotted them again. The humans. They were leaving. He had a spark of a thought that if he was quick enough, he could follow them. Go with them. He wasn’t sure why he felt he should – but getting away from Talzin was priority one.

Then one of the other Nightbrothers spotted him. Feral honestly hadn’t considered that they might be also looking from _above_ for him… lesson learned. Instantly four or five of his clansmen were trying to grab him and he scrambled away. All of his breath was stolen away by the close call. Driven by instinct and fueled by fear, Feral hopped out of his hiding place and immediately ran for the humans. The both of them stopped suddenly. It took seconds for Feral to reach where they stood, arms flung out. If they wouldn’t help him then that was it. No more Feral Opress. _Poof!_ As if he’d heard Ferals thoughts, the human in lighter robes knelt down and scooped him up.

A veil of silence descended upon the village. Now the three of them were surrounded. Feral dug his claws into the outer robes and held on for dear life. His hearts hammered in his chest and he dug his face into the human’s neck for safety. If he could just calm down, he wouldn’t feel like he was about to explode. Well. Maybe not _explode_ – but something similar and _bad_.  
“Master?” The other human sounded calm but Feral knew pretty well that he probably wasn’t. Nightbrothers were fearsome just standing around doing nothing. It was because they had to be, to live on Dathomir.  
“Keep walking.” Replied ‘Master’ – probably not his actual name, but whatever. He felt confident that he’d made the right choice in fleeing his kin. The fuzz on the calm man’s face tickled his head. Something about him helped Feral’s hearts slow. It was… nice.  
“They know the Council is aware of our presence here.”  
“And if they attack?”  
“Hopefully it won’t come to that. Chin up, Anakin.” 

Unfortunately, the initial adrenaline (and subsequent calm) quickly gave way to fear and betrayal. These were zabrak Feral had known his _entire_ life. He had to rely on a _stranger_ to save him from harm. Mother Talzin was mad at him, but all he wanted to do was find Savage again. What was so terrible about that? Why would they take Savage away from him? Feral sniffled and hid his face in ‘ _Master_ ’s robes. Without his permission fat tears rolled down his cheeks and into the brown robes. Feral hated crying. He always felt so much smaller. More fragile, like he could be hurt. Usually Savage kept those feelings away. As he hiccupped and sobbed, a broad hand patted his back soothingly. The two humans continued forward through the crowd of Nightbrothers. They parted for the trio. Feral tried to cry as quietly as he could. All he could do was hold on tight and let himself be comforted by two complete strangers, in strange clothes, while his clanmates glared daggers at them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all... THANK YOU SO MUCH! I really appreciate the kudos and comments! Hopefully this fic continues to generate a little bit of feedback.
> 
> Once again, I'd like to ask you to please feel free to leave a comment - or a kudos; cause that helps me know y'all like the fic still!

**Author's Note:**

> There's about 18 pages in my word document. I'm posting the first chapter to sort of test the waters. 
> 
> Leave a comment or a kudos if you'd like to read the rest!
> 
> If not... then I'll keep writing and hog it all to myself. >:3c


End file.
